The Dickinson press., 1887-12-31
MEXICAN TELEGRApHS
ATTACKED BY MONKEYS, ANTS,
WooDPEcKERs AND TIGERS.

Costly Transportation of Poles and Wires.
Depredations of Inscriptions Ranch.
cr"s-Othcr Enemies Besides Man.
Service in the Hot Lands.
Like the land of Grecian fable, Mexico is
paradise girt with fire There are at least
three distinct climatcs-that of the TERRA
Fria, or Cold Land, up in the mountains:
that of the TERRA Templada, Temperate
Land, on the plateau, and extending down
the slope toward the coast few score miles,
and, lastly that of the Terra Caiente, or
Hot Land, which takes i'll the coast OIL the
l';l'iil,' and Atlantic sides with also some of
The sl"lhns country.
HE lirtra Tcmplatla is, ut the north of the
country, characterized by vast treeless plains,
over which must he hauled by railway, or by
cart Wl'cr" the railway does not penetrate,
ihr i'ni's' and Wire for the lines. Oftentimes
great load, of poles, cut in the forests around
luluca or Palzcuaro, in the southern part of
Che republic have to be- slowly and labor
iou>ly hauled over the hot plains of Chihua-
hra and put in place ly men who carry their
ratons for days with them. The cost of the
poles and the wire is necessarily greatly ell.
lanrcd by the transportation, and it may be
sli'l that telegraph wire, placed almost any
where in Mexico, costs the government three
times what it did landed ut Vera Cruz or
l'nso del Nurtc.
Travellers on horseback in northern Mexico
tlavci'sing these vast, trecless and melancholy
plans stop at night for camp, and finding the
telegraph lriIes accessible and admirably scu-
sonc'i, cut them down for lirewool. And this
is not ALL The humble ranchero, desiring a
~. +,.c
closure, goes with his pcon servants and cuts
down II mile or two for Use, leaving poles
oitonlln"s PROSTATE. | have myself seen
poi"s wireless, and also long stretches of Hre
without poles
lloSEYCoMBlNG THE POLES.
And the poles brought SO far at SO great an
expense have other enemies besides man.
Ill"f" is the insignificant looking worm tho
"jrngcn,' which insidiously honeycombs tho
poles lIIl som" fine day they fall ut the breath
"l Il hre"z,, strewins fragments of wood over
tli" ground. This is Il formidable opponent
"l telegraph communication in Mexico, and
amy bright American who can show how to
keep it out oi the poles may fairly demand a
reward from the Mexican government
"I los raJaros son cncmigos tumben" and
the birds arc also enemics). There is u Mexi-
can woolrrkcr who sits up toward the tops
OF the poles and lecks and pccks and pecks
Tor whole days, till the top comes Off, and
wlres uId cross arms go, too. a great
rogue is this Mexican woodpecker, the sworn
enemy of telegraph poles The lnemcn
trclad"res, shoot him when they can, but Of
what usr. One dies and forty come after the
fuueial
And then the white ants, those industrious,
unseen followers out of timber. These tiny
creatures will eat out the inside of pole till
1t l, II mere Shell, solid apparently, sturdy
seemingly, but absolutclyus good for nothing
Us an "@llsshell. Up comes the wind and the
poles blow away as if they were hornets
nests detached by I; cyclone. These "hormi-
gas l,lanrts" dig out the inside of house tim
l'"is III some parts Of the country. They have
even been known to SO hollow out the legs of
IL dining table that one day down it came
with all its crockcry and the monday meal,
too. The hormisa blanca is also the sworn
enemy OF civilization and progress us repre-
sentcd by tho telegraph.
But tho Hot Land has its enemies Of tclcg-
raphy also. How Maync Reid, or Ballan-
tSnc, OF Verne would have seized on the facts
here presented. Picture to yourselves, good
friends on seaside piazzas or lounging on
mountain tops this summer day, u country of
NtS''i'ttlpI, Wllu plpUUllC IuIIlS
nnd plantainS, with jungles so dense that it is
hard work with II stout and sharp machete to
make II path through them, u country of in
tense heat, of innuncraLle musuuitoes, and
ticks, and malaria, and snakes and vegeta-
ton that grows up in Il day to a height that
in,crfcrcs with the labor Of man.
FIGHTING OFF THE PUMA.
Such nie some parts Of the Mexican states
f.E 'E,1,nc II
such regions thut the telegraph which con-
meets the Mexican capital with important
points like San Juan Buptista or San Girls
tobnl must penetrate. This is a country
where til" lnemen go in couples, and armed
with rifles I" fight off the fierce puma or
Mexican tiger nigrel, who assaults man and
is especially ravenous for telegraph con-
strllctors. Tho Mexican linemen down in the
hot roust country shoot many Il puma while
out attending tn their lines.
y scarcely less formidable antagonist is
found in the monkey tribe who inhabit the
ilii9ss and chaparr;,l Of Tabasco Literally
Tia. woods are full of them" Their favor
lte diversion, when not in quest of food, is to
beti,kc themselves to the telegraph line for
gYiniE,sti( exercises ana linemcn assert that
often 100 able bodied monkeys may be seen
swinging on the wire, fcstooncd, monkey
fashion, by looping their tails. The con
tinuous vibration Of these forest gymnasts
start~ he iron nails used Oh the cross arms,
and tA"s. often come down bringing the wire
iTitlI them.
And 1t is not n safe matter to undertake to
disl'"rse these robust monkeys who play the
dickens with the telegraph lines in the
s;ii'7ely inhabited state Of Tabasco. Linemen
haze found that on shooting IL monkey swing
ing the :" Ire they have been pursued by a
whole regiment OF monkeys, who, with stones
aud nuts, have p"lted them severely. at is
no joke no es broma)" said n lncman re-
Gently, to have a tribe Of monkeys pursue
one; they are very strong muy fuertes) and
can Lit with d stone or IL stick in a fashion to
make man howl with pain q thing the
monkeys enjoy hugely"
In the coast country, especially Oh the gulf
Of Mexico side. the wires from the humid
condition of the air, oxilize rapidly, and u
wire is found by experience to be i'll need of
replacement in n years time This adds
heavily to the COS: of keeping up the service
Still another difficulty in maintaining q
good servlcc in the Hot Land states is the I'M
possibility OF acc!inatng. i'll many regions,
telegraph operators from the colder table
lands They easily fall a pray to fevers, and,
if tlicy escape with their lives, they have
been absent from their posts and the service
has suffered So it has been found necessary
to make us" Of natives ot those regions, often
imlsrfectly educated and from whom much
llu.; bc borne. perforc,, for they make blum
,.ls wlth fatal facility and try the patience
of tie City Of Mexico officials to degree
Frederic X. Guernsey i'll Boston Herald
Panics and Exits.
Tie recent luruiup of the Onaro ('or,;ouo